Light's Champion in the Stronghold of Darkness
by Ashtynn-Jade
Summary: rewritten, better than before. Story of an Elven Princess as she seeks to regain her thrown.
1. Prologue

Made up of six islands Zeb is one of the last realms where men and elves still live in relative peace. This peace was not always there. Centuries ago a great and bloody war raged throughout the whole realm of Zeb between all of the races. After 30 years of fighting the great leaders of each race called a conference. They set about to find a way to end the massive bloodshed. They agreed to assign an island to each race. Nailyn went to the humans, Foresti to the three races of elves, Lucta to the dwarves, hobbits, and lizard men, and Coryntus went to the orcish races. Holus being too cold to inhabit was left to the goddess Forestia to deal with and the last island Nib was reserved for high level magic users and immortals. Peace returned to the realm.  
In the beginning each race kept to their own island fearing war would start again if the races didn't stay separated. Eventually, though, trust began to build and the races began to revisit the other islands soon trade flourished. Everyone still kept their distance from Coryntus because the orcish races like to have guests for dinner, and the dwarves never fully let go of their grudge against the elves.  
The peace continued for decades, as far back as many could remember. One fateful day shattered all that. 


	2. The Elven World Falls Apart

As the warm sun streamed through the canopy of trees surrounding the city the sounds of a fierce battle could clearly be heard behind the city walls. The High-elf capital Goldenlief was under attack. Swords and shields clashed and spells and enchantments flew in every direction. Above all the commotion and chaos the enraged roar of a tiger echoed throughout the city and forest.  
The Dro-elf slashed helplessly at the white tiger it was fighting, succeeding only in making it more furious than it already was. The tiger growled angrily and lunged at her prey. It's large paws knocked the elf to the ground, sending its sword flying in the other direction far from his reach. The tiger's claws sank deep in to the Dro's chest as it leaned closer, let lose another deafening roar, and caught its scrawny neck in her powerful jaws. The Dro elf screamed in agony and terror as blood gushed from its throat. Growing annoyed with the elf's pitiful squirming the tiger bit hard into the elf one last time and let it fall dead. Most tigers enjoy the taste of a fresh kill in their mouths but this one did not, this was not an ordinary tiger. This was the elven princess fighting in a battle her father commanded she stay away from.  
The tiger form disappeared and was replaced by a high elf woman. Elentari searched the mayhem for her father. Even covered in the dirt and blood from the many small skirmishes she had taken part in that morning you could tell she was an extremely beautiful woman. Her hair was coal black and pulled back in a ponytail, she had emerald green eyes and her skin was slightly tan. Her body was well defined but the loose fitting garments she wore hid her body.  
Elentari finally spotted her father across the body-strewn battlefield. The king was leaning against the side of a building and appeared to be bleeding badly. Elentari ran to him and dropped to her knees beside him. He was barely conscience and struggling to breathe. "Father what happened?"  
At the sound of his daughter's voice the king's eyes flickered open, "Run. Get away from the city, I don't want you here."  
"I will not just leave you here."  
There's nothing you can do for me. This battle is over, the Dro have won. Leave now so you can live to fight another day. Build an army and regain your thrown, don't let the high elf empire die with you." Realizing there was no arguing with her father Elentari moved to stand up. "Before you leave I have one request. Find your brother, find Malachai."  
"Father Malachai is dead." Elentari looked down at her father thinking the loss of blood had made him forget that his son had died.  
"Find him, he..." before the king could finish his sentence he took one last staggering breath and died. Elentari stared blankly at the lifeless form that was once her father knowing that the questions running through her mind would probably never be answered. A fireball exploding into the side of a nearby building showering her with debris wrenched her from her thoughts.  
Morphing in to a hawk Elentari flew into the forest and perched on a branch that extended over what was left of the city wall. She watched as the Dro elf leader approached her father's corpse, raised his sword high over his head and shouted something in a language she didn't understand. Anger flared inside Elentari and before she flew off she made a vow to the Dro leader using her telepathy. "You will not succeed with this. You will pay for the death of the king and the destruction of my city with your life and the lives of your men."  
After Elentari finished her vow she took flight heading towards Riverwild, the city of the Wood elves. As she flew she thought about her father's last words. "How can I find a brother who's dead and if he is alive why has he been gone for so many years? What makes father so sure he wants to be found." Elentari was so preoccupied with her thoughts she didn't notice that a storm had blown in. Lightening flashed and temporarily blinded her, she didn't see the tree branch until it was too late and she crashed into it. Elentari fell to the ground unconscious and immediately demorphed. 


	3. Crystals and Wolf Cubs

As Elentari sat with their bodyguard she watched her little brother run and play in the forest. "He loves it out here, it's almost as if Malachai is more at home in the forest than the city."  
"Yes princess it does, but the time is getting late and I'm afraid I promised your mother I'd have you back before dark."  
Elentari looked at the guard and stood up to go after her brother. He had gotten off the path as he usually did and Elentari was the only one who knew where to find him. She walked to a small cave set back in the woods, its opening facing a small clearing in the trees. Malachai was playing happily with the wolf cubs in the cave as the mother wolf looked on peacefully. Elentari watched him play for a few minutes before she called his attention. "Malachai its time to go home. It will be dark soon and mother will have Jackson's head if we're late. We'll come back and play more tomorrow."  
Malachai looked up at his sister and smiled, "Ok Tari I'll be right out, just let me say goodbye." Elentari smiled at her brother's pet name for her. She could not refuse her little brother anything and waited patiently for Malachai to emerge from the cave.  
Malachai came running from the cave very excited, "Tari did you see how big the cubs have gotten? They'll be old enough to leave the cave soon."  
Elentari hugged her little brother, "Yes they have grown, like someone else I know." Malachai laughed knowing his sister was referring to him. "Come on now we must hurry." As they began to walk back to where Jackson had been standing Malachai stopped. "What's wrong Malachai?"  
"Nothing I just forgot the crystals I found for mother by the river. Wait here and I'll run to get them." Elentari glanced disapprovingly at him. "Oh don't look at me like that I'll be right back." Malachai ran back to the cave while Elentari surveyed the surrounding trees. She heard a faint rustling noise behind her and turned thinking it was Malachai trying to sneak up on her.  
"Come on Malachai now is not the time for games, we have to get home." Elentari screamed when she saw what was behind her. The Dro laughed at her reaction.  
"Now now, princess that is not necessary. We're not here to hurt you we just want your little brother."  
"You leave him alone you monster." As Elentari struggled with the Dro holding her as Malachai came out of the cave once again.  
"Tari what's going on?'  
Elentari paused in her struggle to yell to Malachai. "Run! Go to Jackson and get help." Malachai looked terrified but did as his sister said. He began to run towards the trail but the other Dro was too fast and caught him before he reached the edge of the clearing.  
"We have the boy now. What should we do with the girl, we don't need her?"  
"Tie her up we can't have her alerting the guard and following us."  
"Yes sir." Elentari struggled but the Dro was too strong.  
"Leave my brother alone. You can take him; he's just a child. I swear you won't get away with this. My father will send an army after you for this." The Dro just laughed at Elentari's attempts at saving her brother and faded into the shadows growing around the clearing. Elentari fought against the ropes holding her but they were to tight and the rough bark of the tree scratched her skin. Elentari summoned what was left of her strength and focused hard on the image of a hawk in her mind. She prayed the ropes were not too tight to prevent her from morphing.  
As Elentari concentrated her elf form faded away and was replaced by a hawk. She shook off the now loose ropes and flew to where Jackson was waiting for her. She demorphed as she landed. "Princess where is Malachai?" "They took him, the Dro took him. I tired to stop them but I couldn't. He was so scared but there was nothing I could do to help him." Elentari collapsed against Jackson and began to sob.  
"Don't cry princess we'll find him." 


	4. Friend or Foe

Slowly Elentari opened her eyes and blinked against the harsh sunlight. She quickly moved to stand up, but the stiffness in her joints and the pounding headache caused her to rethink her actions. How long she had lain there she didn't know, but it had to have been at least a day judging by the stiffness of her body. While stretching her muscles Elentari took stock of her surroundings. She was surprised to see that the trees around her were scorched, some reduced to mere ashes. "Must have been one hell of a storm." As she stood up she looked back to where she had been laying. She could see a small cave in the distance and immediately knew where she was. Although she had not been here since her brother was taken by the Dro almost 60 years ago. She walked towards the cave and noticed that someone was already there. Elentari slowed her pace and watched the person standing near the entrance. They seemed to be holding something in their hand and appeared to be lost in thought. Elentari stopped and looked closer at the stranger standing before her. He had the same coal black hair as Elentari and was wearing the clothes of a Dro even though by the skin color it was obvious that this person was not a Dro but a High elf. She was taking no risks in alerting the Dro that she was still alive. Before she continued walking she focused on the form of a servant girl that had worked in the castle, and soon Elentari was unrecognizable as the princess. Elentari started walking again and was soon close enough to see what the stranger held in his hand. They were almost minuet crystals, like the ones Malachai used to take from the river. These crystals however looked as though they had been left in the sand for some time. Elentari realized they must have been the crystals that Malachai had dropped when he was taken. She also wondered why someone else would find them so interesting. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not polite to stare?" The stranger's voice startled Elentari from her thoughts. She looked up to see that he was looking right at her. For the first time she could see the face of the strange man. "I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect, I was surprised to see someone here." "I used to come here all the time. Then things changed, but it is no matter anymore." Something about the stranger's eyes called to Elentari, they were the same emerald green as hers and it was almost as if she knew who they belonged to. "The tone of your voice says that it still does matter. I will not push the subject though. I have a more pressing question if you don't mind." "It makes no difference to me what you ask. Go ahead." The stranger sat on the ground and leaned back against a tree. The same tree the Dro had tied Elentari to as a girl. The stranger could still see faint marks in the bark of the tree where ropes had a one point cut into it. "Alright, why do you wear the clothes of the Dro when it is apparent that you are a high elf? "I suppose like all other high elves you have a hatred of the Dro?" The stranger just looked at Elentari waiting for her to answer. Elentari also sat down, she got the feeling this would take longer than she thought. "Yes, I do hate them. But unlike most I have justifiable reasons for my hatred." "And those reasons are?" "Answer my question first." "As a child I was taken by the Dro, I have just recently escaped from them. That is why I wear their clothing. Now why do you hate them?" "My reasons are quite simple. The Dro ripped apart my family and destroyed my city. How did the Dro take you from your family? Did you live outside the city walls?" "No I lived in the city. My sister and I were playing in the forest. It started to get dark so we began to head back to the city. I forgot something and went back to get it. When I came back the Dro had captured my sister. She told me to run and I tried to get away but they caught me too. They tied my sister to a tree; this tree in fact, left her for dead and took me to their city. They tried to raise me as one of their own but I always remembered the look of pain on my sister's face as she pleaded with them not to take me. When the army left to attack Goldenlief I escaped. I hoped to find my family but it's too late now. The city is completely destroyed, they have to be dead." The story sounded too familiar to Elentari but she didn't dare hope that she was talking to her little brother. "What did you forget that was so important you had to go back for it?" The stranger looked down at his hand and opened his fist. "I had picked up these crystals for my mother, they were always her favorite." The stranger dropped the crystals into Elentari's outstretched hand. Elentari's breath caught in her throat and she felt her head spin. "What are you called?" "The Dro called me Moltain." "What is your high elf name?" "Malachai." Elentari couldn't believe her ears. This man sitting in front of her was her little brother. "You mean to tell me that you're Malachai Archadian, as in the prince." Malachai just nodded, as if he was too sad to speak. Elentari just stared in disbelief, she may have promised her father she would find Malachai but she never actually expected to find him. Malachai looked up at Elentari and was confused by the look and her face. "What is your name, if you don't mind me asking. After all you know mine and its only fair." "My name is Zia, I was a servant girl who worked in the castle. I personally served your family." At this Malachai's face brightened, thinking he would finally know the fate of his family. "You served my family, you must tell me about them and where they are." Elentari just shook her head, her little brother's curiosity had not dimmed during his capture and she couldn't help but smile. "All in good time your highness, I will tell in time. For now we must leave this place. The Dro will be upon us soon and we must get to Riverwild. The queen must know the details of the battle and we both need new clothes and weapons before we go to Nailyn." "Why must we go to Nailyn the Dro are here, our fight is here?" "No, the Dro have no longer made it a war just between themselves and us. They have made it a war against all good races, I'm afraid with the fall of Goldenlief the Great War has once again begun. We must warn the Humans because the Dro will most likely soon be gaining help from the Orcish races and possibly even the Dwarves." "Why can the Wood elves not warn the Humans? Why does it have to be us?" Elentari could sense her brother's distress and had to remind herself that he had not been raised by High elves and had not been taught diplomacy. "The reasons we must do it are quite clear, you are the prince, you lived with those monsters for 60 years and I witnessed and participated in the battle." This did not seem to calm Malachai. "I know you have not been taught diplomacy, but it will make no difference once we get to Riverwild. I can take care of everything we will need." Malachai relaxed slightly. "Ok, but you must agree to tell me about my family on the way to Riverwild." "I can do that but we must leave now." 


	5. News of the Past

Elentari was quiet as they walked, trying to figure out how to tell Malachai that aside from her their whole family was dead. "Come on Zia you promised you would tell me about my family." The childish eagerness in his voice made Elentari want to laugh and cry at the same time. She dreaded to shatter his innocence with the truth about their family. "Ok what do you want to know?" Elentari decided it was easier and safer to only answer the questions he asked, better to not overwhelm him. "Where is my mother?" This was the one question she really hated to answer, like the day that Malachai was taken the memory of her mother's death still haunted her dreams. "As you know your mother and sister took frequent trips to Riverwild, on many of those trips I accompanied them. About 20 years ago we were returning to Goldenlief after one of those trips. The trip had been uneventful until we stopped to camp one night. As we rested by the fire rustling could be heard in the trees above us but we didn't think much of it knowing that canopy dragons frequented the area. We didn't know that a small party of Dro had happened upon our camp. Before we knew what happened the Dro attacked. The battle was very fast but left your mother dead and your sister seriously wounded." Malachai's face fell when he learned the fate of his mother. "So Tari is still alive?" "Yes, as far as I know. I haven't seen her since Goldenlief fell." "And my father?" "It truly pains me to tell you that he is also dead, but by far the most recent. Your father fell in battle protecting his city." "So my mother and father are dead and the only link I have to my family is Elentari who may or may not have been killed in battle." Pain and anger mixed in Malachai's voice and it cut straight to Elentari's heart. She had to do something to ease his pain. "Do not despair my prince, I'm sure your sister is alive. Her determination and resourcefulness will protect her. If I know the princess she's hiding out somewhere biding her time until she can take back her thrown." This didn't seem to improve Malachai's mood. "You have a lot of confidence in my sister. I hope it is justified." "A little boy once held all the confidence in the world for his sister, in his eyes she could do no wrong, or have you forgotten that Malachai?" Elentari's words were tinged with anger at her brother's lack of confidence not only in her but also in himself. "That little boy was taken by the Dro." Malachai looked at Elentari as if daring her to challenge his statement. Elentari's temper began grow even more and she was tried of playing identity games with her little brother. "I didn't need a reminder of Elentari's failure to save you. It has burned in the minds of every High elf for the past 60 years, but you must forgive her as we did. She was also only a child. That is enough talking for now; we must listen for canopy dragons. I'm sure the recent Dro activity has them stirred up and we are unarmed." Malachai didn't argue and seemed a bit taken back by the anger in what he believed to be Zia's voice. They continued for some time in silence until a faint rustling caught Elentari's attention. "Malachai stop, there are canopy dragons above us and they are more than aware of our presence here." Malachai did as he was told and immediately froze where he stood. "When I give the signal I want you to run as fast as you can towards the cliff, when you get there jump into the river it's the only place these damned creatures won't follow you and it leads straight to Riverwild." "And what are you going to do?" Elentari looked at her little brother and smiled. "I'm going to distract them while you run. You have no weapons and won't stand a chance against them." "But what about you, you're also unarmed?" "I have a few tricks up my sleeves now get ready. Once you start running don't hesitate and don't look back. I'll be fine, the canopies really picked the wrong person to mess with." Elentari listened for a few more minutes trying to judge how many there were and what morph she would need. She determined that there were only three of them, which was unusual for canopy dragons, yet very lucky for Malachai and herself. Elentari decided to use her wolf; it was small and lightening fast and would undoubtedly make a difficult target for hungry canopies. Malachai intently watched her waiting for his signal to run, when Elentari gave it he took off like a shot and thankfully did as he was told and did not look back. Elentari quickly shed the form of Zia and replaced it with her much deadlier wolf just as the three dragons dropped from the trees. At first sight the animals look fairly foolish, wingless they spend most of their time in the trees, and rely on their pack hunting skills to catch prey. The dragons immediately tried to circle Elentari but she was too fast for them. She ran around them biting and clawing when she could, trying to get a good shot at the dragons' soft underbelly. Finally, one made the mistake of rearing up and gave Elentari the shot she had been waiting for; using her claws she ripped open the canopy dragons stomach fatally wounding the animal. It was the only incentive the other two needed to attack their wounded comrade, and soon they had forgotten Elentari's presence. This suited Elentari fine and she turned and ran into the forest towards the cliff, not even bothering to demorph. When she got to the edge, she quickly changed back into Zia; thankfully she had long ago mastered changing from one morph to another without returning to her true form. She scanned the river looking for her brother but didn't see him, but then again the river's current was extremely fast. Elentari prayed her little brother had made it safely as she herself jumped off the 50-foot cliff into the rushing water. Thankfully, unlike most High elves Elentari could swim, having made the jump into the river many times before, and soon she could see the bridge that stretched over the river. With one last burst of energy she swam to the bridge where two Wood elves deftly pulled her from the swift moving water. Elentari could see that Malachai was already on the bridge, drenched and apparently furious. "Welcome to Riverwild," said the elf to her right. Elentari turned to face him and immediately recognized him. 


End file.
